


Violet

by blinke182



Category: Original Work
Genre: Arranged Marriage, F/F, NaNoWriMo 2017, mention of self harm and suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 09:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12627876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blinke182/pseuds/blinke182
Summary: NaNoWriMo 2017A princess, Angela, must marry before she can become queen. Her parents are trying to force a marriage with a guy she just doesn’t like, Harry, and finds a woman she clicks with named Violet. They become best friends, but Angela thinks there’s something more here. The day of the wedding arrives, and Angela begs Violet to intervene, so Angela doesn’t have to marry Harry. Violet intervenes, but Angela’s parents highly forbid this, so Angela runs away with Violet.





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my NaNoWriMo 2017 project. I'm posting each day's update here as a sort of accountability.

The princess was reading a book in her bedroom when the butler came in.

“Miss Angela, your parents wish to speak with you,” he said.

“Thank you, Arnold, I’ll be down shortly,” Angela said with a sigh as she laid a bookmark in her book to mark her place. She set the book down and made her way downstairs. She found her parents, the King and Queen, in the sitting room. The King motioned for Angela to sit, and she complied.

“What is it?” Angela asked as she sat, careful to cross her ankles so her mother did not scold her for sitting in an unladylike fashion. 

“Well, seeing as you’re approaching the age of 21 come next month, we think it’s time for you to marry. We have a lovely boy ready to marry you come next month. As you know, you must marry to become queen,” the King responded. Angela’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. 

“But I don’t want to marry anybody I don’t love! I have never loved men, never found them even remotely appealing, yet you’re going to marry me off to one without my consent?” Angela protested. She usually kept her eye towards her female peers rather than her male ones.

“In our defense, you’re marrying Harry, the governor’s son,” the Queen said with a slight smile.

“Harry? You mean Smelly Harry? I refuse to marry that imbecile!”

The king was getting furious with Angela at that point. 

“You will marry that boy, or I will cast you off to live as a peasant!” the King bellowed. Angela sighed, resigning to her fate to marry that imbecile, Harry. 

“Fine. I’ll marry him. I suppose I have no choice in the matter,” Angela said, her head low and her voice resigned. 

“I knew you’d come around. It’ll be a joyous marriage,” the Queen said, placing a hand on Angela’s shoulder.

“Am I excused?” Angela asked.

“Yes, but later today, you’re going to be fitted for a wedding dress,” the King said. Angela sighed and nodded before she left.

When she got to her bedroom, she let out a frustrated scream. She then got an idea. She pulled out a small bag she had lying around and started filling it with necessities. She slung it behind her back and made her way to the castle exit. She makes her way through the town towards a bread shop, but she runs face first into a woman exiting the shop. Angela is knocked to the ground, dirtying her dress. She looked up, ready to give the woman a piece of her mind, how dare she knock down a princess, but stopped when her eyes met the other woman’s. 

She was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Angela found herself breathless at the sight of her. 

“I’m so sorry, I should have been watching where I was going,” said the woman as she extended a hand to help the princess up. Angela took the offer of help and steadied herself. 

“Y-you need to watch your step,” Angela said, dusting herself off. She was obviously flustered by her. She was gorgeous. 

“Again, I’m so sorry,” she said. 

“What’s your name?” Angela found the words coming from her mouth before she could stop them.

“Violet. And you’re Princess Angela, aren’t you? I think you’re so gorgeous, I’m actually kind of jealous.”

“It’s lovely to meet you, despite the incident. You’re very beautiful yourself, Violet,” Angela said, speaking carefully so as not to stumble over her words. God, she was so flustered.

“Thank you, that means so much coming from you,” Violet said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. 

“Well, I think we’d make wonderful friends,” Angela said, extending a hand for a handshake. Violet smiled and met her handshake. 

“I agree. What brings you out of your castle, your Highness?” Violet asked. This took Angela aback. She had forgotten Violet was obviously a peasant citizen. Her run-down clothing and general demeanor should have given it away. 

“I found it necessary to get some fresh air somewhere other than the garden,” Angela responded. 

“Well, you’re in the wrong place. This place always smells like manure because of the pig farm across the way. The wind blows just right so the manure smell blows this way. So refreshing,” Violet said while pinching her nose.

“I did notice that. A change of scenery, I suppose?”

“Well, for that you’re in the right place. It’s much different than the polished, clean environment you’re likely used to,” Violet said. She almost put an arm around Angela, but first made a gesture asking if it was okay. Angela nodded, and Violet put an arm around Angela’s shoulders. Angela smiled. She wanted to get to know this woman, Violet, much better. She would normally never be caught dead socializing with a peasant, but she felt this was a special situation.

“Oh, by the way, you don’t have to call me ‘Your Highness.’ You can just call me Angela.”

“Oh, okay. I think I can do that,” Violet said with a smile. 

The two had been walking through the town, and Angela expressed desire to go into the forest. Violet agreed, and they started exploring the forest. Angela almost hesitated to go into a small mud patch, but then remembered she was already dirty so she stopped really caring. Violet suggested camping in the woods overnight, seeing as Angela had brought a few supplies for herself. Angela almost declined, but remembered what awaited her at home and agreed. Violet smiled as she opened her bag.to show she had a thin blanket and a few rations inside, including the loaf of bread she had bought earlier.  
“I like to hang out in these woods a lot. I always come prepared,” she said, closing the bag. Angela felt slightly underprepared, as she had only packed a few snacks and a few valuables.  
They went a bit further into the woods and finally found a flat area where Violet laid out her blanket for the two to sit on. Angela was hesitant, but seeing Violet sit down and rip the loaf of bread in half made Angela feel safe. She sat down, careful to sit in a ladylike manner. 

“You don’t have to worry about that whole prim and proper ladylike type stuff right now, we’re in the woods. It’s just us,” Violet said, stretching her legs out in front of her. Angela is hesitant to follow suit, but finally does the same after a few minutes. Violet smiles and hands Angela half of the loaf of bread. She takes it and digs right in, realizing she hadn’t eaten all day. This makes Violet chuckle, as she had never expected the princess to let go so easily.

“So, what really brings you out here?” Violet asks. Angela hesitates. 

“My parents are forcing me to marry the governor’s son, Harry,” Angela said, her head low. Violet grimaced.

“That’s terrible. I’d hate to be in your position,” Violet said.

“I don’t even like him, he’s smelly and terrible. I don’t want to marry someone like that. He’s so boring, too!” Angela said. 

“Why marry at all?” Violet asked.

“Because I want to eventually be queen, and the law says I have to marry to become queen.”

“Ah, I see,” Violet said, twirling a section of her hair in her fingers. 

“I don’t want to marry that idiot.”

“That sucks.”

“I guess I have to go back to the castle eventually,” Angela said, finishing her loaf half.

“You know where I’ll be,” Violet said with a wink as she started packing her stuff back up.

“The bakery?”

“No, my parents work the pig farm.”

“Ah, maybe I’ll come find you one of these days,” Angela said with a smile as she stood up. “Could you lead me out of this forest?” 

“Absolutely, your Highness,” Violet said with a smile. She stood up and packed her blanket back up. Once they were all packed back up, Violet held her hand out. Angela looked at it, unsure, and looked back up.

“What…?”

“May I take your hand?” Violet asked. “So that we don’t get lost?”

“Absolutely,” Angela said, taking Violet’s hand. Violet led her back to the village, talking the whole way about how Angela would probably like it at the pig farm, if getting dirty wasn’t a big problem. Angela was worried. She loved getting dirty, but her mother always scolded her for getting even a light speck of dirt on her dress, as if life was prim and proper and clean all the time. No matter how many times Angela tried to explain to her mother that life was dirty, and she couldn’t be expected to keep completely clean all the time, her mother never relented. Angela sighed, remembering the last lecture she got when she tracked a little bit of mud from the garden into the castle. 

Violet finally led Angela to the village, and Angela insisted she could find her way from there. 

“Are you sure, princess?”

“I’m completely sure, a hundred percent,” Angela said with a smile. She waved goodbye and walked off to the castle. Boy, was she going to get a lecture today. She walked in the front door to be met with her father.

“Where have you been, young lady? We were looking for you for two hours and you were nowhere to be found!” the King bellowed.

“I’m sorry, father, I was out getting some fresh air,” Angela insisted.

“Why are you covered in mud? Your mother’s going to have a fit!” the King said, and Angela cowered. 

“I’ll go draw a bath now, father!” Angela said, running off to the bath. She shut the door with a thud and took a deep breath to calm herself. She ran a hot bath and relaxed for a while. Nobody could take this from her, especially if her mother wanted her to keep perfectly clean.  
Weeks passed, and Angela spent lots of time with the peasant girl, Violet. Angela brought her beautiful clothes and jewelry and always made sure her family had plenty to eat. Angela knew how much Violet meant to her, so she introduced Violet as her best friend from the pig farm. Her parents frowned upon her making friends with a peasant girl, but they allowed it, as Angela was always a solitary child. 

The next month, Angela’s 21st birthday came along. This was also the day Angela was to marry Harry. The night before, around two in the morning, Angela went over to Violet’s family’s farm and asked for her.

“Yes, Angie?” Violet asked when she seen Angela at her door.

“I marry Harry tomorrow,” Angela said, a somber look on her face. 

“Oh no, what do you want me to do? Want a cup of tea? How about a hug?” 

“Intervene. I want you to intervene in the wedding. I don’t want to marry him, I love you!” Angela said, grasping at Violet’s hands. Violet was taken aback, a shocked expression on her face as she took in this information. After a minute of pure anxiety for Angela, Violet gave her a huge grin. 

“I love you, too, but your parents would never let us marry,” Violet said, kissing Angela’s hand. 

“I don’t care. Object. Intervene. Please, I beg you!” Angela said, dropping to her knees to beg.

“I will. I don’t think I could see you get married off to a guy you don’t even remotely like,” Violet said, kneeling down with her and leaning her forehead on Angela’s. Angela smiled a small smile as she placed a hand behind Violet’s head and kissed her. Violet was surprised, but kissed her back for a moment. 

“I won’t let you marry him,” Violet said, gripping Angela’s arm. “Not on my watch.”

“Thank you, I really appreciate it, Viola,” Angela said.

“It’s no problem, Angie,” Violet whispered. 

The next day came, and the Queen was all over wedding preparations. She got Angela in her dress and ready for makeup. Angela was to wear a big, fluffy white dress covered in stones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> total word count - 2024


	2. Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This day was pretty short due to the fact that I got distracted easily and I had an excess of words from the day before.

“I feel like a cupcake,” Angela said with disdain in her voice.

“You look like a princess,” the Queen said, adjusting her hair to frame her face. Angela frowned and tucked it back behind her ear. Her mother pulled it back out to frame her face. 

“I look like a cupcake,” Angela said. She tucked her hair behind her ear again and went to put on the death trap heels her mother had picked out. “I don’t get a say in anything, do I?” 

“No, you don’t,” the Queen said, draping a veil over Angela’s head and stepping back. “You look so beautiful, my Angel.”

“Can we just get on with it?” Angela said. She just wanted it over with.

“The ceremony is very soon, we just have a few last-minute things to worry about,” the Queen said, wiping a tear from her eye. “Oh, I can’t believe my baby’s getting married today! She’s going to be queen and take my place soon!” she said, hugging her daughter. Angela just groaned. She didn’t want to be getting married to Smelly Harry, she wanted to marry Violet. Angela could only think of how beautiful Violet was, so much she almost forgot where she was.

“Oh, the ceremony is starting soon! Oh, I’m so excited!” the Queen said, taking Angela’s hand, which pulled her out of her daydream, and leading her to just outside the doors of the chapel. 

The chapel was huge, lined with huge stained glass windows depicting many different scenes from the bible. There were many pews lining either side of an aisle lined with a red carpet. Pillars lined the walls up to the ceiling, which was about two stories high. Harry, a scrawny boy with freckles and red hair waited at the altar, along with the priest. The pews were full of people, but in the front few pews sat all the nobility in the land. The organ sounded the first few chords and the doors swung open to show Angela and her father, the King, arm in arm. They began to walk slowly down the petal covered aisle. Angela tensed as the gravity of the situation set in. Angela and her father approached the altar.

“Who gives the princess away?” the priest asked. 

“I, the King, do,” said the King, letting go of Angela’s arm. He kissed her hand and stepped back. Angela hesitated before stepping up to meet Harry. She sighed and accepted her fate, putting on a fake smile. 

“We are gathered here today to bind these two in holy matrimony,” the priest announced, gesturing to the bride and groom. “Harold, do you take Princess Angela, to have and to hold, through better or worse, as long as you both shall live?” 

“I do,” Harry said, dabbing a tissue on his forehead to mop up the sweat from him being nervous.

“Princess Angela, do you take Harold, to have and to hold, through better or worse, as long as you both shall live?”

“I…” Angela hesitated. She didn’t want this. She looked to her parents, who were trying to get her to say the two words that would bind her to this idiot for the rest of her life.

“I object to this marriage!” a voice rang out through the chapel. Everyone turned to look around, trying to find the source of the voice. It turned out to be a person in a trench coat towards the back. They stepped out into the aisle and removed the coat and hat they were wearing. It was Violet.

“You! How dare you ruin this wedding, you peasant troublemaker!” the Queen bellowed. 

“Arrest her!” the King shouted, and the guards rushed to apprehend Violet.

“NO!” Angela cried, throwing off her heels and running to protect her. She embraced Violet, trying to protect her. “You will not arrest her, for I love her!”

“You are to marry Harold this instant or I will lock you in the tower and you will never become queen!” the King bellowed. Angela let go of Violet to turn and face him.

“I refuse! I will not marry a man I don’t love! I love this woman, and there is nothing you can do!”

“Arrest them both!” the Queen shouted. Guards advanced, and Angela grabbed Violet’s hand.

“This way,” she said, and pulled Violet’s hand. They ran towards the forest, Angela wincing every time she stepped on a tree root with her bare feet. 

The two ran until they couldn’t run anymore, but by then the guards had already lost them due to the zig zag motions the two made to try to shake them. 

“Hey, there’s a cabin over there! Let’s try it out!” Violet said, leading Angela over to it. She went up to the door and gently pushed on it. It swung open freely, and Violet stepped inside a bit.

“Hello? Is anyone here?” Violet called. No answer. She walked a bit further inside to find the place was abandoned.

“Hey, we could stay here, use it as shelter! Nobody’s here, it doesn’t show any sign of anyone having lived here in ages,” Violet said. Angela looked around, stepping inside.

“I suppose. The guards lost us a long while ago, so it should be perfect,” Angela said with a smile. 

“I agree,” Violet said, placing her hands on Angela’s waist. Angela smiled, but both of them broke into laughter. 

“I can’t believe that happened,” Angela sighed, leaning her head on Violet’s shoulder.

“Neither can I,” Violet said, petting Angela’s hair. She spotted a couch against the wall. 

“Let’s check that out,” she said, letting go of Angela and walking over to it. She pressed down on the cushions, and found them to be dusty, but sound. She waved Angela over and sat down, opening her arms to hold the princess. She walked over and obliged, cuddling up to her.

“We can rest now, at least for a while,” Violet said. She felt a tear drop hit her shoulder. She looked down and saw that Angela was crying. She pet her hair. 

“Let it out. It’s been stressful,” Violet said, rubbing circles in her arm. 

“Thank you, Viola,” Angela said in a whisper. Violet just kissed the top of her head.

“No problem.”

Angela woke up to a sleeping Violet on the couch, and looked around. It took her a minute to realize she was not in her castle. The memories of the events from earlier flooded back and overtook her emotions, causing her to cry again. She felt Violet’s hand patting her head in an attempt to soothe her.

“You’re okay. We’re not at the castle anymore,” Violet said soothingly, “You don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“I know, I just worry about what if I went back?” 

“It’ll be okay, we’ll get through this.”

The two laid there in complete silence for a few hours before Angela realized that food was a thing people needed. 

“How are we going to get food?” Angela asked. Violet gestured to her bag that she had set next to the couch.

“I have a few rations in there to hold us until we can figure it out. Or I can go into the village and get food,” Violet said. “My parents will help us. I told them your situation and they agreed to help you in whatever way they can. If I explain what happened they’ll help us for sure,” Violet explained further. Angela nodded.

“Makes sense. I can’t go back to that castle, they’ll prevent me from seeing you again,” Angela said, kissing Violet on the cheek. 

“I know. You hide here. The guards are going to look for you more than they’ll look for me. I’m going to find us some more food,” Violet said, gesturing for Angela to move. She did, and Violet got up.

“If I’m not back in an hour and a half, come look for me,” Violet explained.

“Of course,” Angela said. “Think you could get me some more comfortable clothes?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Violet answered before leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> total word count - 3366


	3. Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The very end was actually part of Day 4 but I wanted to post it in this one anyway so the end of the chapter made sense.

Angela, left to her own devices, looked around the little cabin. It looked dirty, but most of it was dust. She got up and looked around the cabin, digging in all of the drawers and searching inside all of the cabinets. She found basic cleaning supplies, but didn’t really know how to use them. Usually the maids did all the cleaning around the castle, so she didn’t have any background in cleaning.   
Instead, she took to picking up the debris around the bed. There wasn’t much, just some books that had been left around. The cabin looked as if the previous inhabitants had left in a hurry, only packing essentials and valuables. Angela couldn’t help but wonder what caused them to leave. She packed those thoughts away in her mind as she picked up. She found a book that intrigued her. It was about a princess who didn’t want to marry but her parents wanted her to, so she fought back. Angela placed this book on the couch and went back to cleaning up.   
Violet ran through the forest, intent on returning to her parents’ pig farm to get some much needed supplies. She made sure to track her way there, so she could get back easily. When she got to the farm, she carefully knocked on the door, then ran around the corner to hide. The door opened to reveal a royal guard, thinking it may be Violet returning for help. 

“Hello?” he asked, as he couldn’t see Violet there because of her hiding place. He looked around for a minute before going back inside. Violet tensed up and stayed in place. A few minutes later the front door opened again.

“Thank you so much, we’ll be in touch,” the guard said as he left, slamming the door on his way out. Violet watched him leave, then waited a few minutes. Once she was sure nobody else was coming out yet, she went to knock on the door again, only to run to the corner again. The door opened, and a woman’s voice rang out.

“Is anyone there?” she called.

“Mom?”

“Violet, there you are, come in, carefully,” she said, and Violet snuck inside. 

“Mom, I need food and clothes for me and Angela. She had to run away in a wedding dress and no shoes,” Violet explained. Her mom smiled.

“The royal guard just came looking for you two, thinking I would know something. Don’t tell me where you are hiding out, I just want you to know I’m proud of you. I love you, sweetie,” her mom said, giving her a hug. She then went to pack up a bag of food for Violet. 

“Thank you so much, Mom. It’s going to be hard, but we can do it. Angela loves me, Mom, and I love her,” Violet explained before going to her room to search for clothing. She found a couple sets of clothing for Angela, as they were conveniently about the same size, and an extra pair of shoes so Angela didn’t have to walk around barefoot with the cuts and scrapes she got on the soles of her feet from running away. She even grabbed some bandages and medicine for her feet.

“Here, this should last you about three days,” her mom said as she handed Violet a bag full of food. Violet smiled.

“Thank you so much, Mom. I’ll protect the princess if it kills me,” Violet said with a smile.

“It might break her heart if you die protecting her, so be careful,” her mom said. 

“Bye, Mom,” Violet said, hugging her mom one last time just in case. She cracked the door open a little bit to check for guards. The coast was clear, so she snuck her way out towards the forest, then started booking it as soon as she had the cover of trees. 

Violet slug the bag over her shoulder, careful not to break it and lose everything. She got back to the cabin to find Angela had cleaned the place up pretty well. 

“Wow, Angie, didn’t know you had it in you,” Violet said with a smile as she set the bag down on the couch. 

“You figure things out as you go, you know?” Angela said, wiping down the counter in the kitchen. “It’s not like I didn’t have enough time.”

“Oh, hush up, I got you some better, not a wedding dress clothes and some shoes. How are your feet?” Violet asked.

“They sting pretty good, and I think I got blood on the floor somewhere,” Angela said, wincing with every step. 

“Here, I have bandages,” Violet said, gesturing for Angela to sit down. Angela obliged, and Violet pulled bandages out of the bag. Violet carefully cleaned the bottom of Angela’s feet, Angela wincing every time Violet went over a particularly painful cut. She applied the medicine to the cuts and bandaged her feet carefully so as not to disturb the medicine when Angela moved. Angela went to stand up, but Violet gently pushed her back down. 

“You need to let your feet heal,” Violet said. “So you are to stay off your feet until your feet heal up a bit. Understand? I don’t want you opening those cuts more than they need to be.”

“Okay, Viola. I will. But I need to change into different clothes,” Angela said. Violet dug in her bag and tossed a suit of clothes to the princess. 

“Here. They’re peasant clothes, but I’ve always found them super comfortable,” Violet said with a smile. She extended a hand to help Angela up, but Angela refused.

“I can get up myself, thanks,” Angela said, but winced when her feet touched the floor. She fought through it, as the pain of the cuts really set in, and went in the other room to change. She came out a few minutes later in comfortable clothes, a torn up wedding dress in hand. Angela tossed it over the back of the couch and fell back into it, not wanting to spend the time to sit properly. 

“I’ll take care of it. Hopefully we can stay here for a while until you heal,” Violet said, resting a hand on Angela’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I don’t think running with my feet like this would be very pleasant. I just hope the royal guard doesn’t know about this place or we’re in trouble,” Angela said, gesturing for Violet to sit down, to which she obliged. 

“They don’t, or at least they shouldn’t. My mom was visited by a royal guardsman, and she told me not to tell her where we were, so if they come looking for me again she can’t accidentally give it away. She gave us about three days of food and medicine,” Violet explained. Angela nodded. 

“It’s good that she’s willing to help us,” Angela said with a smile.

“She always is,” Violet said, taking Angela’s hand in hers. “She just wants me to protect you.”

“I can protect myself!” Angela said. Violet smirked and gestured at Angela’s feet.

“Maybe not…” 

“It’s okay, Angie, we’ll get through this. I’ll visit the village every so often for supplies, and I’ll keep an ear out for news. Maybe if we wait it out long enough, they’ll let up and let us come back,” Violet said, rubbing circles in Angela’s hand with her thumb. Angela smiled and leaned her head on Violet’s shoulder. 

“Thank you for everything. I don’t know what I’d do if I’d never have met you,” Angela said.

“You’d have married Smelly Harry and been sad for the rest of your life,” Violet said.

“Right. I think I’m much happier right now.”

Meanwhile, in the castle, the royal guards were with the King making plans to find Violet and Angela. 

“There’s an abandoned cabin in the woods, maybe they hid out there?” asked a guard.

“If they did, that means they’ll be coming back for supplies every so often,” the King pondered. 

“Maybe. We could head them off at the pig farm that peasant girl’s family runs. We’ll be able to arrest them both that way,” said a different guard.

“Perhaps. Harry’s distraught, he thought he was getting married yesterday, but she had to run off and leave him for that peasant girl,” the King muttered. He wasn’t happy at all with the situation. He wanted what was best for his little girl, even if she disagreed with him about what that was. What was best for her was to marry the governor’s son and become queen, not marry a peasant girl that couldn’t give them an heir.

“We’ll do that. We’ll head them off at the pig farm the peasant girl’s family owns. They’re bound to show up again later.”

“Go ahead then, you have my blessing,” the King said. “I shall retire for the evening.”

“Very well. You will have your daughter back as well as the peasant girl apprehended,” the lead royal guardsman said. He bowed in respect and the guards left to do their jobs.

“What am I going to do with that girl…” the King muttered, unsure of why his daughter would run off with such a lowly person, a girl no matter. His daughter was raised a princess, always taught to remember her place above the peasantry. 

“Are you coming to bed, dear?” the Queen asked from the door to the room.

“Yes, I’ll be there,” the King answered, but pondered for a minute. “Honey, did you want to marry me?”

“Why, yes, I did. I saw you when our parents introduced us to each other and instantly decided I was okay with the marriage my parents proposed to me. Why, are you worried about Angela?”

“Yes, I just can’t see why she wouldn’t want to marry in the nobility of the kingdom,” the King said.

“She thinks he’s repulsive, but why she’d choose a peasant girl who is even more repulsive than Harry is beyond me.”

“Maybe she thinks we’re being unfair. But we’re offering her a marriage that is advantageous and only for the good of the kingdom.”

“I’m sure she’ll come around eventually. She’ll show up at our doorstep with an apology and be begging to marry that boy,” the Queen suggested. That seemed to ease the King a bit. 

“Perhaps. We can only hope.”

“Come to bed, dear.”

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> total word count - 5024


	4. Day 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a mention of self harm in this one, but I don't really explain why she harmed herself. That'll be explained later, I promise.

Meanwhile, Violet helped Angela to the bed inside the cabin. It seemed like it had only been slept in a few times, a blanket and a couple of pillows on top, but nothing else. Angela tensed as she lifted the blanket to lay down.

“I’ve never shared a bed with anyone. I don’t want to hog the bed or kick you or something,” Angela said.

“It’s okay, I’m sure you won’t hurt me too bad. If you hog the bed, I’ll just sleep on the floor. It’s not like I’m not used to that,” Violet explained. This made Angela worry.

“That’s not a good thing. Come on, let’s go to bed,” she said, a hand on her shoulder. Angela laid down, and Violet laid down next to her. Angela kept to herself for a minute, but then she decided to put an arm around Violet. 

“You can cuddle with me, Angie, it’s okay,” Violet said, bringing both arms around Angela and pulling her close. Angela was surprised at the sudden move, but relaxed into it as the two of them drifted to sleep. 

The next morning, Violet awoke to see Angela still fast asleep. She smiled, and carefully rose so as not to disturb the sleeping princess. She went to find the medicine and bandages, so she could change Angela’s bandages. She thought she’d do it while Angela was asleep, so she was too asleep to really feel the pain. She carefully unwrapped Angela’s bandages to find the cuts looked a little bit better. Violet applied more medicine carefully so as not to wake her and wrapped clean bandages on her feet. Angela stirred for a bit before rolling over and going back to sleep. Violet smiled. The princess was obviously not used to waking up in the early hours of the morning like Violet was. 

She got up to prepare some food for breakfast. Her mother had given them some bread rolls and butter for breakfast. Violet carefully prepared breakfast as Angela woke up finally and walked into the room. 

“My feet feel better already,” Angela said, rubbing her eyes.

“I changed your bandages. We don’t want you getting an infection,” Violet said.

“How do you know so much about medicine?”

“I only really know enough to deal with cuts and scrapes. But when my shoes would give out, sometimes buying new ones had to wait and my mom begged me to make them last a little while longer. Being poor has never been fun. It may make me very hardy, but it’s pretty bad sometimes. I sometimes would dream of what it would be like to be nobility, but I knew it’d never happen, so I’d just shut up and clean the pig pen,” Violet said.

“That’s terrible. I can’t even imagine what that must be like. I’ve always had everything handed to me, and I never really understood why we could live in luxury when most of the other people in the kingdom couldn’t,” Angela said, offering a hand to Violet, who took it. 

“I’m glad we met in front of that bakery that time,” Violet said.

“So am I.”

Over the next few weeks, Angela and Violet made do, Violet returning to the pig farm every few days or so to get more food for the two of them. Her mother was always happy to oblige, giving Violet news about the kingdom.

A few weeks later, back at the castle, the King and Queen were discussing Angela over breakfast.

“I wonder where she went. I worry about her sometimes,” the Queen said.

“I hope she’s learning her lesson about listening to her parents out there in the filthy and dangerous woods,” the King said, scowling at his plate of eggs. 

“I’m sure it’s setting in if she hasn’t run to the next kingdom over yet,” the Queen said, picking at her plate.

“I have an idea. It may not work, but it’s worth a shot,” the King said.

“Do tell.”

“what if we make it known that we are going to allow Angela to marry this woman, they hear, come back, and we arrest them then,” the King suggested.

“Ooh, that’s sure to get them to come back for sure,” the Queen said, smiling. 

“I’ll start after breakfast, dear.”

The King went to the newspaper and made sure they ran the story that they were willing to allow the princess to marry the peasant girl, and that all charges would be dropped. It ran the next day, which happened to be the day Violet made her run into town for food. 

“Violet, I have wonderful news for you,” her mom said, holding up a newspaper. The headline said:

King and Queen Decide to Allow Princess to Marry Peasant Girl

“Really? This has to be a ruse,” Violet said, taking the newspaper from her.

“No, it’s true! They’ve decided to allow the marriage and Angela can still become queen!” her mother said, happy as they come.

“I’ll inform Angela. She’ll be so excited,” Violet said, gathering the food her mother packed for them as well as the newspaper. 

“Be safe!”

“Don’t worry about us, Mom!” Violet called as she left. She snuck back through the woods and back to the cabin where Angela, with fully healed feet, was cleaning a bit.

“Angie, I have wonderful news!” Violet said, holding up the newspaper and showing Angela the headline. 

“No way, they’re not going to just accept us back after all of that, I can’t believe it,” Angela said, a bit skeptical.

“It can’t be a ruse, they must allow it, right?”

“Perhaps, but I highly doubt it,” Angela said, closing the curtains. Violet noticed her hands were shaking quite a bit more than usual, and a small spot of red on the curtains that wasn’t there before. 

“Angela, can I see your arms?” Violet asked, holding her hands out after setting the bag down. Angela’s eyes widened, and she made a point of hiding her arms.

“It’s nothing, Viola, I promise,” Angela said, closing her arms in. Violet was having none of that, and grabbed Angela’s arm, causing a hiss of pain to come from her. She yanked Angela’s arm out of the fold she had set them in and examined her arm. There were a few small, shallow cuts in the insides of her wrists.

“Angela, how could you? Do you want to hurt?” Violet asked, genuinely worried about her.

“I just don’t really get it, I couldn’t help it. I just saw the blade and I just went on auto pilot,” Angela said, yanking her arm back. Violet was having none of that. She grabbed the bandages and carefully wrapped Angela’s arms.

“Don’t scare me like that! Please, we just heard this great news!”

“I know, but we should wait a few days just to make sure they don’t go back on this,” Angela said, worried. She put a hand on Violet’s shoulder. 

“I agree. We really should hide out here for a few more days,” Violet said, placing a hand on top of hers. “Here, how about some bread?”

“I’d be delighted.”

A few days later, when it was about time for Violet to go into town for food, Angela put her wedding dress back on. 

“Why are you putting it back on?” Violet asked, bewildered. 

“I figure if I’m wearing the dress, there’s less evidence that your mother helped me while we were on the run,” Angela said.

“If you want to think that way,” Violet said, shrugging, “but I would suggest keeping the shoes on.”

“I know, I don’t want to cut my feet up again like when we first ran off,” Angela said.

“Right, she understands,” Violet said, smiling fondly at her. Angela reached for her hand. 

“Whatever happens, if this turns out to be a ruse, promise me you’ll always love me?” Angela asked.

“Absolutely, I would never stop loving you,” Violet said, kissing Angela’s hand. 

“Let’s go.”

The two stepped out of the cabin for the first time in a while, at least for Angela, and slowly made their way back to the village. They visited Violet’s mom first, for Angela wanted to thank her for the supplies while they were hiding out.

“Thank you so much, I appreciate every morsel you gave us in our time of need,” Angela said, smiling.

“It was no problem, dear. We’re more than happy to support true love in the nobility,” Violet’s mom said. “I just hope to have a lovely young woman as you as my daughter-in-law one of these days.”

“And you shall,” Angela said with a curtsy. 

“I wish you two the best of luck,” said her mom.

“Thanks, mom.”

They left the pig farm and headed towards the castle. They entered to find the royal guard pointing their spears at them.

“They’re here! Arrest them! Get the King!” said the head guardsman. Violet grabbed Angela’s hand and tried to run away with her, but Angela tripped on the way out. The guards captured Angela, and Violet tried to run to save her, but Angela’s voice rang out.

“Save yourself! Don’t worry about me! Run, Violet, run!” Angela cried out, and Violet, sparing a moment to look back, turned and ran back into the woods. Angela knew she’d be safe if she ran away, and Angela accepted her fate. She stopped struggling against the guards. 

“Princess Angela, what a delight to see you again! You’re so dirty, how could you let yourself go so badly?” a voice rang out from behind her. Angela turned. 

“Mother? You know exactly why I’m so dirty! I’ve been in the woods for weeks!”

“I know, you almost look feral, like a wild animal. We’ll just have to clean you up!”

“Why are you arresting me?” Angela asked as the handcuffs were slapped into place on her wrists.

“Because you ran away from your duties as a princess of this land,” the Queen said, “That could almost be considered treason.”

“Will I get to marry Violet?” Angela asked.

“Oh,” the Queen laughed, “absolutely not! You’re marrying Harold, the governor’s son, whether you like it or not! Guards, take her to the tower and lock her up there!”

“Yes ma’am!” the guards chorused, and led the princess to the tower, where she was tossed in unceremoniously and the door locked with about five different locks. The room had a bed, a separate room that obviously housed a bathroom, a few books, some of the princess’s clothes, and an open window with bars on it. Angela went straight to the window and found she could see the pig farm from there. It was a good distance away, but she could see it and think of Violet.

“What am I going to do now?” Angela muttered as she leaned against the wall next to the window and slid down to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> total word count - 6904


	5. Day 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter mentions thoughts of suicide. Just a warning. Honestly, I'm amazed this one got finished today, for my dad just went to the hospital today.

Meanwhile, Violet had managed to get away. She was still wanted for disrupting the wedding, and could not very well show herself. So, she hid in plain sight. She went back to the cabin in the woods at night, but went to the village daily to try to figure out how to rescue Angela. Through mutterings of the citizens and newspapers scattered about, she heard that Angela had been imprisoned in the tower. She met with a few of the villagers, knowing they wouldn’t turn her in if they wanted to. She spoke to one in particular who had some very strong views on the subject.

“I can’t believe they’d imprison our princess like that!” he said, “And just for refusing to marry someone? Ridiculous. I’ve been with my husband for five years, and we’re perfectly happy!”

“Right? I don’t have any ideas yet on how to rescue her, but I feel as if I must. She told me to save myself, but now I’m going to save her,” Violet said to the man. 

“I’d be willing to help you if you need to! I work for the local blacksmith, maybe I can get him to help you. You may just need our help,” he said.

“What’s your name, good sir?” Violet asked.

“Jeffrey. If you decide you need my help, you know where to find me.”

“The blacksmith’s?”

“Absolutely,” the man said, with a lazy salute as he left.

“Maybe…”

Violet spoke to a few more citizens, and they all agreed the King and Queen were being unreasonable, and were helping Violet brainstorm ways to rescue Angela.

Meanwhile, Angela sat on her bed and contemplated her situation. It would be over if she just ended it all. She could probably force the bars open enough for her to jump out. She was sure there was something in the tower she could use. But she knew what it would do to Violet if she did. It hurt Angela to think she may never get to marry her. She stood up and went to the window. 

“Oh, there’s the pig farm. If Viola weren’t on the run, she’d still be there, but she’s probably long gone by now. No way she’s given a single thought to me,” Angela muttered to herself. She knew this wasn’t true. She knew Violet wanted to marry Angela as much as Angela wanted to marry Violet. 

“Princess?” she heard a voice from the door.

“Yes?”

“Dinner, stand back,” the voice said. Angela stepped away from the door and window. It opened, and a royal guardsman slid a plate of food to her. 

“Thank you,” Angela said.

“Leave the plate and utensils at the door for when we collect them tonight,” the royal guardsman said. 

“Very well,” Angela said, and the guardsman closed the door slowly, being careful in case Angela decided to make a move. Angela could hear the five locks click closed one at a time. She ate the meager serving quickly, but felt much disdain for the guards for keeping her here, so she threw the plate out the window through the bars once it was fairly empty. She heard it smash on the ground below about three seconds later. 

“Wow. I didn’t think it was that tall,” she muttered to herself. 

“Why would you do that?” she heard a voice from the ground below. It was the groundskeeper. Angela felt upset at everyone to be honest, so she ignored him. 

She didn’t want to be here, much less in these uncomfortable clothes she always wore. They felt even more uncomfortable after having worn what the peasants wore, the comfortable tunics and somewhat baggy pants. She had even been given the stupid neck breaking heels she had worn on her wedding day. She would have thrown them out the window, but she could never get them to fit through the bars. She almost threw a book out the window, but realized that was the only source of entertainment she had. 

She looked in the mirror in the bathroom. She looked like an absolute mess. She hadn’t brushed her hair in days and she didn’t give any mind to making a mess of her dress. By then, she had been in that room for about two weeks.

“I look insane…” she muttered to herself. “I mean, I probably am! Who wouldn’t after not seeing anybody for a while?” 

Meanwhile, Violet stared at the tower, seeing a plate fly through the window and crash to the ground. She became worried about Angela. She hoped she wasn’t harming herself again. She also hoped she was doing okay. She saw an arm stick out of the window, and reached an arm out back towards the tower. Angela was reaching out to her, she knew it. She had to do something.

“Angela, I will rescue you,” she vowed, and a plan struck her.

She all but ran over to the blacksmith’s. She saw a guy different to the guy she saw before.

“I’m looking for Jeffrey,” Violet said. 

“Hey, Jeffrey, a pretty young lady’s looking for ya!” he called into the store behind him. 

“I’m coming, cool your heels!” a voice rang out from the back. A minute later, he appeared behind him. 

“Oh, it’s you. Got a plan yet?” he asked.

“I do, as a matter of fact. I need armor. Traditional knight’s armor. Think you could bang that out for me?” Violet asked.

“As a matter of fact, I’m fairly certain we can. I don’t know if the boss will do it for free, however.”

“I’ll work,” said Violet, “Anything you need. I haven’t got money, but I’ve got work ethic.”

“I’ll talk to the boss man, see what he says. No promises though, miss,” Jeffrey said, going back into the back. After a few minutes, he came back out. 

“He says he’ll do it if you’re willing to help him out around the forge,” Jeffrey said. 

“I’ll do anything,” Violet said. “You have a deal.”

“I’ll let him know,” Jeffrey said, going back into the back to tell him. 

“I sure hope I can do this,” Violet muttered.

“You seem strong, I’m sure you will do fine,” said the guy she saw earlier. 

“Thanks. I’ve worked a pig farm my whole life.”

“It’s a different skill set but you should do just fine.”

“Thanks.” 

Jeffrey came back out with some news. 

“He said when can you start? He has to finish the previous project first before he can start on yours but-”

“Now, I can start now. I’m willing to wait, but not too long, I have a princess to save!”

“Okay, come on back then,” Jeffrey said, and Violet followed him back into the forge. It was very hot. 

“Is that the girl who wants the armor?” said a large muscular guy holding a glowing bright sword and shaping it with a hammer. 

“Sure is, boss!” Jeffrey said.

“Take her measurements. I need them to size the armor well,” the boss said. 

“Sure thing, boss!” Jeffrey said, pulling out a measuring aid. He took the measurements and wrote them down.

“What’s your name, girl?” the boss asked.

“Violet.” 

“Call me Boss. I need you to stoke that furnace over there,” the Boss said, and Violet went over to do so when Jeffrey followed her. 

“Do you know how to do it?” Jeffrey asked. When Violet shook her head no, Jeffrey went to show her. 

“You just shovel this coal into the furnace. Like this,” Jeffrey said, picking up the big shovel. He scooped up a bunch of coal and threw it into the furnace. The fire roared a bit before going back down a little. He handed the shovel to Violet. She took it and shoveled another bunch of coal into the furnace. 

“Yeah, like that. I think two’s enough for now, that’s about how many you’d do whenever you stoke the furnace,” Jeffrey said, and Violet laid the shovel down against the wall. 

“Anything else, boss?” Violet asked.

“Not at the moment, just hang around for if I do need you,” the Boss said, and Violet and Jeffrey went to hang out by the wall. 

“So, what’s it like at the pig farm?” Jeffrey asked. 

“Dirty. You’re covered in dirt and maybe some other brown stuff that looks like dirt but totally isn’t dirt all the time, and it doesn’t really pay well. The village gets its pork though, so we do it anyway,” Violet said, looking at her nails. They hadn’t been scrubbed clean in a few days. 

“That sounds terrible, but maybe not as hot. Do you know why pigs love mud so much? Or is it a mystery to you and your family too?” Jeffrey asked.

“They use it to cool off, much like how we go swim in the lake during the summer. They like to wallow,” Violet said with a sad smirk. 

“You okay?” 

“Yeah, I’m just worried about Angela,” Violet said, the smirk disappearing. 

“Princess Angela?”

“Yeah, you know, the one that got locked away because she refused to marry someone?”

“Yeah, I know. I have strong feelings about that.”

“Yeah, I’ve been told. Well, I met her after she ran off once after finding out she had to marry the governor’s son, and we ran into each other in front of a bakery. We fell in love, I disrupted her wedding, and we ran off for a couple of months. We came back and Angela was arrested. I’m honestly amazed I haven’t been arrested yet, it’s not like I’m doing much hiding,” Violet explained.

“Well, we’re not going to rat you out, you have my word. I’ll bet you have the boss’s word too. He only really cares about his forge and the things that come from it.”

“I appreciate that. I’ve been hiding in the woods at night because if I go home, I’ll be found and arrested, and I can’t very well rescue the princess like that, now can I?”

“Maybe the boss will let you stay here while we work on your armor!”

“No, that’s okay, I have accommodations,” Violet said. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, there’s a cabin in the woods we found when we ran away the first time after the wedding.”

“Well, so long as you arrive here early, you’ll be fine,” Jeffrey said, patting Violet’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Jeffrey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> total word count - 8631


End file.
